A Kiss of Eternity
by Selene Eldritch
Summary: This story is based off of Bella being changed BEFORE the wedding night. It's based on her struggles with her new self and her relationship with Edward, friends and family. Rated M for possible future lemons, and somewhat morbid content. Eventually.
1. Awakening

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this chapter. They belong to Stephenie Meyer, as does the Twilight series.**

Sometimes, we need to make sacrifices for what truly matters to us. As much as we deny reality in a futile attempt to protect ourselves, we find our bodies going through the motions. Day by day, week by week, we do what we must to survive. People die. Love is lost, yet time goes on. The mistress of eternity, time stops for no one.

This is a fact I had to acknowledge as Edward's venom set me to burning in my own internal pyre of suffering. Instinctively, I clawed with all my might to cling to my humanity. I was not fearless. I was as any human would be in the face of irrevocable change; panicked, desperate, suffocating. Though my heart acknowledged my decision as the right one, my mind could not bear this foreign serpent of poison perforating my very essence in its struggle to eradicate the warmth and life from my body.

After three days of torment, I expected many things. To feel love and amazement; even a sense of wonder… but nothing could have prepared me for what I felt upon waking. Nothing can prepare you for… Well, nothing. I had no idea what to feel. I was not myself. I was not human. I was a predator; I had become the very thing that had devoured me. I felt cold… Still. Hollow. I had woken to a world that was not my own, to a foreign touch upon my face, smooth as silk, yet invasive somehow. As my new vision found the eyes of my love, he truly was achingly beautiful, yet the beauty was unnatural. As if it wasn't enough that my whole world had changed, Edward now seemed a stranger in my vision as I looked upon him with new eyes; eyes I knew would be blood red and monstrous in appearance.

I had not expected such monumental change, and it frightened me - this seemingly foreign planet with its peculiar textures and colours. I was not myself, nor did I know exactly how to deal with this revelation.

So I simply ran.

**Thank you for reading, R&R please! Future Chapters to come if you'd like them.**


	2. Acceptance

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the update delay, I've been busy with school. Enjoy. 3**

I'm not sure as to how long I ran, or when precisely I had determined my destination. All I knew was that, in that moment, I was immensely thankful for my strange yet powerful new body. Propelled by my fear and confusion, I raced so quickly through the trees that the seemingly alien plant around me didn't register in the slightest. The strange smells and sounds confronting me on my journey only fuelled my desire to flee, sending me ever faster on my way. It could have been a minute, or a day for all I knew. My mind, so acute, so multifaceted, didn't seem to register the passing of time the way my human brain would have.

It was then, with no sense of self, time or stability of mind that I found myself standing in the center of the meadow. OUR meadow. A tearless sob escaped my lips as I sank to my knees in the last of the summer grass. I raised my pale fingers to touch my face, and the lack of wetness startled me. Had I really been prepared for this? I could not cry, I could not eat, I could not sleep. I had no need to breathe… So many natural human patterns, patterns that made up years of my life, were no longer required. The clarity with which I could sense my own confusion should be overwhelming, to say the least. I felt like I suddenly had so much extra space within my mind, and yet it felt right; unnatural in the most natural way.

The sound of soft, racing footsteps pervaded my acute hearing, and I angled my body in the direction of the noise. Edward was there, standing in the shadow of the trees, yet even from this distance I could make out every detail of his flawless face. My eyes traced each line of confusion in his knitted brow, and the worry evident there ate at my frozen heart. Something else was in his expression, though. Something like… caution? Looking down at myself, I realized I had shifted up and into a defensive crouch, my porcelain fingers clawed to either side of me. Startled, I straightened, holding my arms stiffly to my sides. Something in my face must have betrayed my shock, for it was then that he began to approach me at a human pace. Leaving the shelter of the forest, a final beam of the afternoon sun struck his skin, where the light shattered into prismatic splendour. I noticed new colours I had no description for, and felt myself take a step back in fear. How could I be frightened of something so beautiful? I couldn't make sense of it in my head.

"Bella…" Edward murmured softly, his velvet voice wrapping around me, as soothing as the lullaby he often used to sing me to sleep. He had approached me slowly, closing the distance between us. The expression in his eyes seemed almost painful. I reached for him tentatively, and he came to me, wrapping me carefully in his embrace. How strange; he no longer felt so cold and hard against me. Nothing felt the same… Another sob tore from my lips, and his arms tightened around me. "I should never have done this to you… I should have known it would be too much. Bella, I… I'm sorry."

Hearing the ache in his voice was my saviour. Having a new body didn't mean I was no longer myself; not completely. I found purpose in easing his pain. Not only would it make him feel better, but it would distract me from my racing thoughts. "No, Edward, I just… It's so much more than I expected… But it's worth it." I turned my face up to his, meeting his topaz gaze while trying not to think of the monstrous appearance of my own eyes.

I tried to comfort my mind with the familiarity of the situation; of being here in this meadow with Edward. We had been here countless times before. In truth, it had only become more beautiful, something I had not anticipated would be possible. It was simply the fear of change that set my mind off kilter, but the realization of the true difference here sent my heart soaring. Before I had been here as a soft and fragile human. Now I stood here as Edward's equal. He would never have to restrain himself again, to temper every touch with patience and care. Where moments before I thought only of the negative aspects of the overwhelming changes, I now saw only positive. My lips spread into a smile.

Upon seeing this, the worry left Edward's face, his eyes two churning, golden orbs of passion. He took my face slowly between his hands, and I had no words to describe the feeling of his skin against mine. Silk would be an understatement. It felt like soft liquid, void of temperature gliding against my flesh, leaving a tingle of electricity in its wake. My lips parted slightly in awe, and it was then that he crushed his mouth to mine in the most deliciously unrestrained kiss we had ever shared. His fingers wound their way into my hair, my palms sliding against his back as our lips and tongues mingled in an erotic dance beyond anything that I had ever imagined. Kissing Edward as a human was amazing, but kissing him as a vampire… That was sheer bliss. Before I knew it I was on my back in the grass, Edward's lithe body hovering over me, and for once I didn't feel self conscious. I knew I would be beautiful in this new form, and that knowledge knocked down the last of the barriers between us, leaving me completely open to receive his love without doubt.

As I tugged at his shirt, however, we were reminded of just how new this all was to me by an obnoxious ripping noise that ruined the intimate moment. I had torn his shirt nearly in half. Had I been human, I would have blushed as I gazed up at him in embarrassment. Edward only chuckled. "It will take you a while to learn how to handle your strength. Don't be embarrassed… Better my shirt than Esme's house." He smiled his dazzling crooked smile, and my breath caught in my throat. The possibility that I could be stronger than Edward seemed absolutely absurd, but the Cullen's had told me as a new born I would be in peek condition. I could even beat Emmett in an arm wrestle, if I tried hard enough; but all I could think of was accidentally hurting Edward. How ironic that I was now the one who would have to be gentle. I laughed at the thought and Edward quirked a brow, no doubt pondering what internal monologue had given rise to my good humour. "I swear Bella, some days I have no desire whatsoever to know what's going on in that head of yours." He shook his head, his tousled bronze hair falling forward to halo his angelic face.

The moment ended far too soon as he scooped me up in his arms and set me on my feet. "Race you back?" he winked and before I had opened my mouth to respond, he was gone, racing through the trees. _Oh no you don't _I thought as I bolted off after him. I was well aware that Edward would not have delayed in pursuing me to the meadow; the fact that he had arrived moments after I had settled told me I was faster than him. My guess had been correct; I caught up to him within seconds, and then surpassed him… only to realize I had no idea where I was going. I came to an abrupt halt, the wind tossing my mahogany hair as he sped past me.

He stopped a few yards away and turned to me, smirking. "Use your sense of smell. Follow the trail we made… It will lead you home." Then he was off again. Apparently, my lack of humanity somehow no longer constituted manners on his part. With a huff, I did as he had instructed and sniffed delicately at the air. Upon catching Edward's scent, and something foreign but not unpleasant that must have been my own, I raced after him, the woods flying past to either side. What a rush! How could I have ever found this so terrifying as a human?

We tied, which was probably lucky. I had been reaching forward to touch the house, but at the speed I had been going, I likely would have gone right through the wall had Edward not grabbed my wrist and held me back. He chuckled in his quiet, musical voice, wrapping his muscular arms around my waist. His sweet breath caressed my ear as he whispered "Well done, love" and kissed my neck affectionately. I closed my eyes with a smile, at long last convinced that everything would be fine. With my new 'life' came many new possibilities that I was more than happy to indulge in.

**R&R Please! I promise that in future chapters, Bella and Edward will finish what they began in that meadow. ;)**


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